Chris Paul was voted an All-Star starter for the Western Conference and Jeremy Lin, after being in contention based on early returns in the NBA’s annual popularity contest, was not. Order has been restored.

That means the West opening lineup went according to what would have been easy preseason predictions — Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Dwight Howard in the frontcourt, Kobe Bryant and Paul at guard — and that means the coach’s vote on the reserves won’t have to use a roster spot to right a wrong at the level of Lin ahead of CP3.

It will be down to the usual hard choices to fill out the roster. This year, that could mean picking between teammates (Stephen Curry or David Lee in Golden State), between teammates at the same position (Memphis reps Zach Randolph or Marc Gasol for the frontcourt), and whether the newest test for a rookie (Damian Lillard) will be patience.

There are always cases to be made. But here are the seven most-deserving selections for the West All-Star bench. (For Steve Aschburner‘s look at the East, click here.)

THE BACKCOURT

There are several names. Russell Westbrook. James Harden. Tony Parker. Curry. Lillard. Jamal Crawford. There just isn’t much room for debate for the two picks.

Harden is fourth in the league in scoring at 26.3 ppg and the leader of the sudden recovery in Houston, the host city. Westbrook is top five in assists and steals.

My picks: Westbrook and Harden.

THE FRONTCOURT

Now we’re talking debate. (And now we’re also talking a little strange to have a year without Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol or Kevin Love.)

Randolph (16.4 ppg, 11.6 rpg) and Lee (19.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg) are double-double power forwards for teams in or pushing for the top half of the playoff race. Gasol (13.2 ppg and 7.4 rpg) and Serge Ibaka (14 ppg, 8.3 rpg) can’t keep up statistically, but defense is a major reason their teams are winning at a brisk pace. Tim Duncan, usually a popular pick for coaches in years he is not voted a starter by fans, is at 17.1 ppg and 9.6 rpg in just 30.1 minutes. LaMarcus Aldridge (20.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg) has helped push the Trail Blazers into playoff contention ahead of schedule. Denver’s Kenneth Faried (12.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg) and Utah’s Al Jefferson (17.4 ppg, 9.8 rpg) may get support.

My picks: Randolph, Duncan and Lee. Randolph likely breezes in. It would be a surprise if Duncan does not make it to Houston, either this way or via the wild card, but it will be interesting to see if Duncan and Parker split votes among coaches around the West for San Antonio representation. The Spurs could get both and deserve both, but some voters may prefer to get more teams involved rather than have two subs from the same team. Lee could be a close call to make it.

THE WILD CARDS

Two players chosen by coaches regardless of position. Some voters may be weighing the other picks — starters and their previous selections by position — and some may simply go for most deserving and not care if the roster is guard-heavy. But everyone mentioned above but not added specifically as frontcourt or guard will be a candidate here.

My picks: Parker and Curry. Parker for sure. If some coaches are debating whether to pick one from Golden State’s Lee-Curry option, Curry deserves a slight edge. The position breakdown could make that moot, though.

131 Comments

For me harden deserves a lot to be there so does westbrook they are proving to be key players all season round duncan is making a remarkable season too so he deserves to be it all star team now crawford is playing good of course but he hasnte been a key player in this season lee deserves too but i think that you can put other players at his level too like ibaka he is being a key player not in all games but sure he’s good to be in this position or at least be talked about parker for sure one key player and deserves to be in the team has much has any one now the thing is the west has many good players but not all of them are in top condition has the allstar weekend aproaches

I feel so bad for LaMarcus. If he were on the Lakers or any other big market team not only would he be starting the All Star game but he would be in the convo for best player in the league. Only guy besides Lebron averaging 20 ppg and 8 rpg, consistently carries the offensive load for his team, demands a double team anywhere under the three point line or he Will score two, plays with three other guys who average at least 15 ppg, and is the only player in the league who currently uses an “unstoppable offensive move,” from the mouth of Kareem.

Kenny Smith is stupid for putting in Ibaka over Westbrook. Weber is an idiot for selecting Jamal Crawford when nobody makes the ASG for being a 6th man. Barkley is even more moronic for not only choosing Crawford over Parker but also choosing M.Gasol over Duncan which means no Spur in his list. Both players have better numbers than his selections and a better record. I can understand Shaq choosing Aldridge over Curry but the Warriors is much better than Portland who may not even make the playoffs.

Blake Griffin is not an allstar. There should be Randolph or Marc Gasol at his place. But that’s the problem with public votes. They just see a dunk highlight (that might even have been an offensive foul) and go crazy. Even Serge Ibaka should be in there before Blake…

An there is no debate to pick Westbrook and Harden over Parker. Before Parker is an all star this year, Stephen Curry is one. And Damian Lillard.

The main problem is that the west is just so loaded and people only look for highlights.

I apsolutely agree with this list and dont know why people put JCrawford and JR Smith on their lists. I mean they do average 16-17 ppg but shoot only a little bit over 40% and they dont play great defense.

I’d say Timmy and Tony for sure to the all star game. They both are having amazing seasons this year and leading the team to 3rd in the Western Conference. Would also like to see Kawhi Leonard in the BBVA game. Lack of Spurs representation last year even after getting number one record was a bit disappointing. Hopefully we’ll see them in Houston this year. Especially since we are in Texas!

Did anyone notice that in the graphic of the four Denver Nugget players, they spelled Andre Igudola’s name wrong (spelled it Agudola). The guy has been an all-star, represented the US at the Olympics and they can’t get his name right.

C’mon Ernie, Chuck, Kenny and Shaq. Your support team needs to be better.

Barkley is such a big buffoon. He puts 2 Warriors and 2 Grizzlies on the team and even a Clipper reserve, but Duncan and Parker own all those clowns. Kobe has had a great season, but his team is so bad that he shouldn’t be starting. Randolph over Duncan and Curry over Parker is a joke. Gasol doesn’t produce like an allstar either and I really like Ibaka and Faried over him.

That leaves out Curry, Randolph, Gasol and Aldridge, but that happens when Kobe, Griffin and Howard are set as starters and ruin the entire thing. Ibaka and Faried are a stretch and I am probably wrong, but those two guys hustle like nobody’s business on both ends of the floor.

Honorable mention – Damian Lillard all I have to say is WOW this kid is going to be great. Rookie of the year for sure and if he does make All-star team it will be first appearence by a rookie since MICHAEL JORDAN people wake up and smell the future superstar.

Keep Howard reserve,Kobe spectator that’s better,rings is wat matters not the all star game!Put Ibaka on the starting line up,i have some respect for him!Next year put Liliard as reserve guard for the west,this guy can ball real good!
This is coming from a hardcore Lakerfan!

I think my Front Court would definately be: Westbrook and Harden, If they played in the East this season one or both of them would have been genuine contenders for starting spots.

My Backcourt options: Ze-Bo averaging 11.6 rebounds the year and really leading an improved Grizzlies team this year, Tim Duncan the guy is just timeless, he’s getting older he is still producing at an all star standard and David Lee it was close between him and Aldridge who are both averaging about 20 ppg but Lee is holding a 0.60 % higher field goal percentage aswell as holding down 10.9 boards per game

Rudy Gay isn’t in the mix? Damn, been waiting years on this to put him on the reserves. He’s too underrated that is why. No one ever sees him. Who’s the 4th best SF in the NBA behind LeBron, ‘Melo and KD? You can say Gallinari or Iguodala, but the better all-around SF behind those 3 is Rudy Gay. Enough said. For 7 years lifting Memphis with ZBo and Gasol, he deserves a spot.

Mr Howard-Cooper, I agree with just about everything in this article, except for one small thing: Sadly, when it comes to All-Star selections, playing defence means nothing to the fans, and almost nothing to the coaches. Proof? Marcus Camby.
2006-07 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
2004-05 NBA All-Defensive (2nd)
2005-06 NBA All-Defensive (2nd)
2006-07 NBA All-Defensive (1st)
2007-08 NBA All-Defensive (1st)
Zero All-Star selections.

Choosing west reserves will be tough and several deserving players will be left aside cause Howard and Griffin are taking 2 undeserved spots on the team. Kobe, CP3 and KD are fully legit but not the 2 others. They make the decision for frontcourts even tougher: Duncan, Lee, Randolph, Aldridge would be more deserving. Even Marc Gasol, Jefferson and Batum should or could be considered.
That wouuld open up a spot for an additionak guard for the wild cards.
Westbrook, Harden and Parker are no-brainers but Curry, Lillard (even though he is a rookie), Mayo, Gay could be considered as well.

Ideally, the starters should be Kobe, CP3, KD , Duncan and Lee.
For the reserves, I would then go with Randolph, Aldridge, Batum, Parker, Westrbrook plus Harden and Curry for the wild cards.

Given the starters elected from the popularity context, I would go with following reserves: Duncan, Lee, Randolph, Parker, Westbrook plus Harden and Aldridge for the wild cards.

I agree with all of this except for Steph Curry in the last reserve spot. David Lee deserves to be in. I think Steph just misses out in favour of one of Jamal Crawford, Al Jefferson, LaMarcus Aldridge or Pekovic (and I would have Cousins in there too, but he’s basically DQ’d from consideration by the coaches due to being a headcase and DQ’d again by playing for such a bad team while not being such a superstar he demands selection).

In my opinion the All Star Game should be spectacular, so players as Jamal Crawford, C’s Green, Westbrook, George, Ibaka, Iguodala, Faried, DeAndre Jordan, Harden and similars are the Top for the All Star Benchs!

Remember guys that there a so many good point guards but there can at most be 4-6 elite point guards in the game which means 2-3 a team. Westbrook is not better then CP3 and Derrick can’t fight it out with rondo. Same goes with the other shots on the court. So many elite players but the all star game should not go by your history but then form your in. Like Curry is in form so is lebron and others

Demarcus Cousins deserves to be at least in all star reserves talk. I mean stats and talent is what all stars are supposed to be based on right ? Demarcus has both. So what he got suspended look at Melo and he’s a starter. Cousins is at least trying to clean up his act and mature lately. DMC !

Also why Jamal Crawford? If he can be an all star candidate then why not Nicolas Batum? he’s been the one helping the Blazers with Aldrige. Lilard might be a candidate also. Then there’s Danilo Gallinari who’s leading the Nuggets on the rise. But because of his shooting percentage, he’s unlikely to be. There are more players stat wise like Jamal Crawford but the question is, are they on an all-star quality?

I think that Crawford suits All-Star game just for the pure entertainment character of it. After all, it’s hard to think of anyone having fancier handles than Crawford. He would be a lot of fun to watch, but you’re right, stat-wise he is not an all-star.

Jamal is a candidate because hes one of the 3 best players on one of the top. Anyone who has followed the nba knows the top two teams always have a 3rd player in contention . Pick the 3rd best player on a title contender or the 2nd best player on a fringe playoff team ? Its one thing when you are the first or second best player at your position but after that you better be on a trop team to get consideration .

It’s a disgrace that this 11th seed Lakers has two starters. What a joke. OKC should have 3 players, Clippers should have 2, Spurs should have 2 and Memphis should have 1-2 in the all star game. Kobe and Howard don’t deserve being all star reserves let alone starters.

The ASG is, and always has been, a popularity contest. The fans get to choose the first ten players, then the coaches get another 14 choices to sort out the mess. Eight of 10 starters came from four teams: LAL, LAC, BOS, MIA. No surprises there, hey.

Wondering why Nikola Pekovic isn’t in this conversation, i’m not saying he is an all star but he has practically carried the Timberwolves and is the reason that they are still in the playoff picture despite the injuries they have had. He at least deserves to be considered.

aaron have you ever even watched marc gasol play? and are you really using stat lines as a reference for who should be an all star? marc gasol is one of the best centers in the entire league and he absolutely deserves to be in the all star game. if the grizzlies needed him to produce something like 21 and 9 like you seem to admire so much than he would, but they dont because they have randolph and gay up there in the frontcourt. and as for aldrige, tim duncan would be a much better choice for that spot.

agreed,,,and this is the 1st year in a long time that duncan accually deserves it…..however the stats are the important thing here,,its the only thing that matters in the nba,,,honestly,,,the lack of defence and the diferent rules from the real game of basketball , total bias calls for players,,,make the sport way to sickening to actually watch…WWE with a ball,

i Think with the way Lillard has been playing as a rookie he deserves to get in. hes been playing great and helped the blazers stay in the playoff hunt when everyone at the start of the season was counting them out. if Aldridge doesnt make it Lillard should.

that’s like asking how rondo does when averaging 13 and 11. it’s the presence on the floor and how they change a game even without the ball in their hands. gasol is awesome and plays on a stacked team where 2 or 3 other players could be an all-star. numbers don’t tell the whole story

I’d go with Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LaMarcus Aldrige, Zach Randoplph, David Lee, Tony Parker and Stephen Curry — to me Alrdrige is goin for 21 and 9 on a mediocre blazers team and helping them win (he’s more valuable to Portland than Duncan is to the Spurs right now, as Parker is their best player) ,which is more impressive than duncans 17 and 10.

You could not be more wrong about Duncan. It is also about his presence on the field that make it more difficult for the offensive player to do their thing. And considering his age and the ranking of Spurs both Timmy and Tony should be in the all-star game. Is not only about the stats you are posting but also about the presence.

The thing that I don’t get is why Howard is voted, he is popular alright but considering how the LAkers are playing they should only voted for Koby… but that is just my opinion. But nobody here questions if Howards should be considered as a All-star and that is pretty weird

Duncan is having an OUTSTANDING season. Per 36 minutes, his numbers are on par with his two MVP seasons. Mark’s right: he’s third in blocks per game and only playing 30 minutes a night. (In 2013, he’s averaging 3.8bpg.) He’s 7th in efficiency ranking, and 3rd in efficiency per 48 minutes. The dude is even shooting better than 80% from the free throw line, a career high. Parker is playing great, too, and the Spurs will always be the Most Valuable Team, but Duncan deserves to be an All-Star again this year.

Can anyone explain me why everybody is considering Jamal Crawford as a candidate for the All Star?

Im not american but i ve been following the NBA for years. I can t understand why is Crawford in consideration over other deserving players. I belive Greivis Vasquez is having a great season (he may be the most improved player this year). I could even put OJ Mayo over Crawford. Jamal is a great scorer but he is not an allaround player. He is not a good defender or playmaker. His field goal percentage is not great either. He is just a shoter.
For me, even Ginobili (if we are talking about 6th men) is a more deserving candidate. He is a better all around player (at 35 years old) in an elite team in the Western Conference.

Im not a Crawford hater but i think there are others players above him.

im with you on this. Jamal Crawford, in my opinion has a lot of hype because of the team that he’s on. No doubt hes a good player but not an all-star, especially not with a ll the good players and teams in the western conference

Jamal Crawford is a the second leading scorer on a team with the second best record in the league and he comes off the bench and he plays only 29 mpg

He is the frontrunner for the nba sixth man of the year award and this will be his 2nd time winning it only three other players have ever won it multiple times Ricky Pierce,Detlef Shrempf ,and Kevin Mchale and all were all stars.

Jamal Crawford has scored 20 or more points 15 times which is the most out of all bench players . His team is 12-1 when he leads the team in scoring . In contrast manu has 8 games of 20 pts or less and OJ May has 18 games of 20 pts or more but may also plays 36 mpg .

Crawford is routinely double teamed even though he comes of the bench . The Rockets double teamed Crawford when he crossed half court just this past week to force the ball out of his hands when was the last time a team double teamed Manu or Mayo at halfcourt

Crawford is the 3rd leading scorer in the 4th quarter in the nab trainling Kobe and Durant

Crawford by all accounts is the 3rd best SG in the West right now behind Kobe and Harden

This year at this point and time jamal is having a bigger impact on his team and the nba than anyone else mentioned hes one of the 12 best players in the westermn conference this year

Agreed, I like Crawford, and would LOVE to have him back on my (GSW) team. But coming off the bench and being a great scorer Isn’t enough, compared to the other guys mentioned in the article, and the coaches know that. It’s just easier to be a scorer (even a great one), than hussle and fight on defence and/or boards, and still put up solid points.

then why isnt everyone doing it ? Also considering his numbers are as good as anyones at his position per 36. Hes doing just as much as anyone in the west and hes doing it way fewer minutes he shouldnt be penalized because he plays fewer minutes

I dont think that you follow this sport to well . Why wouldnt you consider the leading 6th man of the year canidate, and for most games leading scorer for the clippers coming off the bench. Your talking about a man who could score more in one half then your favorite starter could the whole game but why consider Jamal Crawford right… My Vote. Westbrook Crawford and the rest is a tossup.

I like Jeremy Lin. However it is relief to me that he did not make it in. Obviously the voting is a popularity contest and that’s fine. But when a player gets voted in because of their race verses their game it is a problem. Just because I am Italian does not mean I would vote an Italian person into the game because of my heritage. Its good to see the majority (although barely) voted the guard who deserves to be representing the West as a starter due to his game and not his background.

Westbrook, Harden, Parker no question have to be on the team every one else is debatable. The way it’s broken down for reserves 2 back court, 3 front court and 2 wildcards makes will cause a deserving guard to get left off. Duncan needs his rest so leave him off, lol. David Lee has to make it, he is carrying Golden States front court (Landry helps him a little). Z-bo, Gasol or Gay would be fine, I would prefer Gay because he is more exciting to watch play. LaMarcus Alridge and Steph Curry. My picks: Westbrook, Harden, Parker, Lee, Gay, Aldridge and Curry. Sorry Jamal Crawford.

Part of the problem is the debateable presence of Howard and Griffin as starters. Howard is having his worst PER of his career and is on a losing team. I understand Kobe being voted in as he’s a perannial allstar and is leading the league in scoring so far this season, but two starting all stars from a team that isn’t even playoff bound seems a stretch to me.

Griffin has a better case, but he still seems a little too one dimensional and his inclusion on the all star team seems based entirely on the fact that he generates a lot of highlights rather than overall skill. He’s a tremendous physical talent, and a key player on a top team though, so he probably would have made the all star game even without being a starter.

As much as I like Serge Ibaka, there’s too much talented size out west to put him on the squad, and Lilliard has to face too many talented guards on teams with more wins.

If I were picking reserves:

G: Westbrook, Harden
F: Aldridge, Randolph, Lee
W: Curry, Duncan

Although leaving Tony Parker off the list is tough, I think that the Allstar game benefits from younger line ups and the run and gun style, so I put the young athletic scorers in there instead and had Duncan as my nod to the amazing season the Spurs have been having.

Wake up and stop dreaming!!!!!! Why is it that before the season even started you laker fans already declared them as champs. Now that LAL might not even make the play offs. You blame this blame that, they should get this and get that. When the Miami big 3 came together, everyone became a critic. They lost to dallas, but they did not make any excuses. Just stop whinning and play. Loosers always puts the blame on something. Winners fail and that is why they succeed.

as well as the big three in Miami, they had rally good supporting pieces and role players with people like battier and haslem or even chalmers. the lakers couldn’t compare to that before the season and now with all the injuries they have to give people like sacre and duhon big minutes. as much as the lakers are unlucky with injuries, there were never the right pieces to the puzzle at the start of the season

Wow, that’s hilarious. Lakers don’t have no salary cap for any of those players… They went 200 times over the luxury tax. Stupid Lakers GM once again traded 4 picks for Nash and look how the garbage Lakers are suffering.. No bench.. Only Jamison they have off their bench.. LOL

The complaints about the Lakers are partially tied to the fact that an 11th seed with very little chance to make the Playoffs got two starting allstars.

Kobe would have made my picks because he’s had an amazing season and is leading the league in scoring despite being on a losing team.

Howard shouldn’t have made the Allstar Roster – he’s having his worst season ever from an efficiency standpoint and hasn’t been terribly effective for his team. Whatever the reasons for that poor performance (chemistry, system, laziness, recovering from surgery, etc) the fact is that he shouldn’t be playing in Houston in the festivities based on his season so far.